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Monday, May 23, 2016

Singapore-brewed beer launches a new movement in its bid to preserve our street food culture!

Imagine life without Chicken Rice or Char Kway Teow? It’s a reality that could easily come to pass if the current worrying trend of our ageing hawker trade persists. Many oldtime recipes and skills are being lost, and our iconic street food is in danger of dying out if the younger generation of Singaporean hawkers do not replace our current veterans. Will we be able to turn this around? Or is it a lost cause? Will these beloved dishes become extinct before Singaporeans are galvanised to work together to keep them in our hawker centres?

Tiger Beer, Singapore’s favourite beer, has taken on the mantle of ensuring our street food remains vibrant and authentic for generations to come with a series of videos that bring to life the stories behind Singapore’s iconic street food and the hard work that goes into sustaining this integral part of our culture.

Now, lovers of our local fare can rejoice as Tiger Beer launches a new movement to celebrate and preserve the nation’s most iconic dishes and unique food heritage. Starting from 2nd April 2016, the movement aims to motivate Singaporeans to give street food the appreciation and recognition it deserves by shining the spotlight on our hawker fare and how much it means to us.

While food is one of Singapore’s biggest passion points, with approximately 109 hawker centres1 and a growing Food & Beverage sector2, Singaporeans’ social feeds have reflected otherwise, with more coverage for fancy restaurants rather than hawker centres, a cornerstone of our street food culture and a key component of our cultural identity.

“Tiger Beer and Street Food are synonymous with our hawker heritage in Singapore. As the iconic Singapore beer, Tiger Beer seeks to reclaim the pride and passion for a fellow national icon by putting our local street food back in the spotlight,” says Venus Teoh, Head of Marketing, Asia Pacific Breweries (Singapore). “It’s time to preserve what we love.”

Sparking conversations through stories by our hawker stalwarts

To jolt Singaporeans into realising the importance of preserving our street food culture, Tiger Beer has produced three short films, featuring three of our very own hawker stalwarts. Released earlier in April, the films aim to remind Singaporeans that Singapore may one day lose its rich hawker heritage if the next generation of hawkers do not step up to continue the trade. The behind-the-scenes look at their lives, not only elaborates hawker fare, but also immediately raises awareness to the issue of succession.

By showing the sheer amount of effort that goes into making a dish the old-fashioned way instead of relying on mass production, the films also aim to deepen Singaporeans’ appreciation for our street food.

Through these two-minute films that chronicle the hard work that goes into the creation of our iconic street food like Hokkien Mee, Char Kway Teow and Popiah, Tiger Beer hopes to get Singaporeans thinking: Are we taking our street food for granted?

Tiger Beer encourages Singaporeans to use their social clout to make the topic of street food trend through their social action, using the movement’s hashtag - #uncagestreetfood to show their appreciation for their favourite local street food.

Supporting our young hawkers to keep our street food culture alive

Tiger Beer believes that the odds are stacked against our hawkers – and the loss will be permanent unless action is taken. To help Singaporean hawkers who are striving to keep their craft alive and thrive in our evolving society, Tiger Beer will invest 20 cents for every 6-can pack (6 x 323ml) purchase to its street food movement from 1st April to 31st May 2016. The 6-can take-home packs will retail at all leading supermarkets and hypermarkets, whilst stocks last.

Brewed since 1932 in Asia, Tiger Beer is now available in more than 60 countries, winning over drinkers in major cities around the world. Over the years, it has undergone many transformations while remaining true to the brand’s rich heritage, traditions and taste.

Tiger is brewed using only the finest malt, hops and yeast, through a strict brewing process that takes over 500 hours – including taste-testing over 10 samples of water every day and over 200 quality checks.

The brand received its first award in 1939, beginning its journey as an Award Winning beer on an international stage. The recognition of its product excellence catapulted Tiger's internationalization in the early 1990s, with over 50 international awards and accolades to date. It is now known as a symbol of contemporary international Asia, enjoyed by discerning drinkers in every corner of the globe spanning across Asia with growing popularity in western markets such as, Europe, USA and Australasia amongst others.

A true Asian beer at heart, the brand wants to show the world what Asia has to offer.

Over the years, Tiger has received more acclaim from the world's leading newspapers and journals than most other beers. For example, the Washington Magazine, in a blind taste-test involving several hundred brands, unreservedly voted Tiger "positively the best beer in the world". Tiger has also accumulated over 50 accolades, awards and distinctions. Some of the more notable awards include a Gold medal in the International-Style Lager at the World Beer Cup 2010 and a Gold Medal for the International Golden Lagers category at the BrewNZ Awards in 2011. Each year from 2004 to 2006, Tiger was named a UK Cool Brand Leader. The recognition reaffirmed Tiger's popularity and was given only to the coolest brands in the UK.